Friday, April 29, 2016

Next to the city Duomo, the Battistero (Baptistery) in Padova (Padua) contained amazing Fresco cycle by
Giusto de Menabuoni, covering the circular wall and the dome. Brilliant
colors and striking composition. Definitely my favorite.

My second favorite work there a Polittico (Polyptych), which presented Madonna con Bambino and other saints in a tiered structure, resembling a gilded palazzo, formal, regal, and impressive, especially the interplay of brilliant blue, red and gold colors.

My favorite of such was the great altar, which dazzled with brilliant blue, yellow, white, red, and gold hues. A bit kitschy from distance, perhaps; but on the spot, I was quite easily transported by the mysterious shimmering light.

My second favorite was a fragmented mural, with cleanly delineated figures, animals and walled city, evoking the ideal of early Renaissance epoch - urbane, sophisticated, refined and pure.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Presented by San Francisco Arts Commission, five exhilarating gigantic white rabbits installation, titled Intrude by Australian artist Amanda Parer, boldly occupied the Civic Plaza of San Francisco, right in front of the City Hall.

According to the curator's note, "Parer's edgy and ephemeral artworks explore the natural world, its fragility and our role within it."

"To the artist, rabbits are animals of contradiction. While they often connote a furry innocence, rabbits are considered an invasive pest in artist's native Australia... Through Intrude, Parer hopes people will thoughtfully consider how humans can change and dominate the environment.

I was utterly enchanted by those artifacts of "Nylon 210D, air blowers, 55w LED floodlights" and failed to pay any attention of the underlying questions intended to probe.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Cappella degli Scrovegni in Padova (Padua), Italy, boasts a thrilling fresco cycle by Giotto, whose works were so delicate, that the viewers were limited to 10- to 20-minutes guided tours, and could only enter the chapel after a 15-minutes temperature and moisture modulation sessions.

That cycle was simply breathtaking - enormous scope, brilliant colors,
remarkable compositions, "modern" technique of rendering volumes and
understanding of human anatomy and perspectives, and above all, exotic
and even bizarre visual symbols, not all of them could be understood
readily by modern casual viewers, though that fault could hardly dampen
visitors' collective awe.

One of my favorite was the Final Judgement Scene - restrained and classical, without baroque sentimental exaggeration of the later period. Giotto captured the essence of human conditions which were almost primordial and touching in its piety and simplicity.

Final Judgement

My second favorite depicted the scene of the Kiss of Judas — menacing yet becalming, with its ritualistic violence cloaked/contained in stylized manners, simultaneously timelessly still and dynamic. Unique and unforgettable.